


I'll Be Waiting

by HooperMolly



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Female Friendship, Gen, Nightmares, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-25
Updated: 2014-05-25
Packaged: 2018-01-26 12:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1688639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HooperMolly/pseuds/HooperMolly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye's been having nightmares and panic attacks so bad that she has trouble sleeping. May wants her to know that she doesn't have to deal with them alone.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Waiting

**Author's Note:**

> Post Season-1. Written out of my own desperate desire to see more May & Skye friendship and May showing that she is actually a deeply emotional and caring person when it comes to relationships outside of her one with Coulson. Unbeta'd. #MelindaMayMatters

_Mike exits the room, leaving Skye alone with Ian Quinn and it’s really starting to sink in just how badly she might have fucked up. She barely feels it when he unloads his gun in her stomach, whispers mocking platitudes in her ear as he gently lays her on the floor. Time stands still as she lies there, the world slowly starting to grey out and blur around her._

_Then the door opens and Ward walks in and Skye feels her heart leap into her mouth because maybe there’s a chance she’ll get out of this. If she’s with Ward then she is safe. Carefully avoiding the patches of blood, Ward kneels down beside her with a smile on his face._

_“Skye.” He says, affectionately. “Oh Skye. Look at what you’ve done. This is what happens to silly little girls who try to take on things they aren’t ready for.”_

_It’s not right. He should be fighting to hold back tears, calling for help, pressing something into the wounds to stem the flow of blood._

_“Ward?” She tries to say but nothing comes out._

_“Did you think we had something? Sweetie, you were never anything more than a means to an end. We could have had so much fun but the Clairvoyant has ceased to see any use for you. For what it’s worth, I’ve had fun.”_

_It all feels so wrong as he lifts up her head and then she feels the sharp pain of something slicing through the soft tissue of her throat. She tries to speak, to ask him why, but only a choked gurgling streams forth._

_“Sorry dear, you’ll have to be louder than that.” Ward says, stroking her hair gently as she continues to drown in her own blood._

_She’s too far gone to know if she’s crying, all she is aware of is the wetness on her stomach and the terrifying fact that she cannot take a breathe. He takes her hand and raises it to his lips, kissing her fingers softly._

_“Hail Hydra.” Ward’s lips barely move but the words penetrate to Skye’s very core, running through her like the knife that slit her throat open. Then he opens his mouth and begins to scream._

_“Coulson! Simmons! I’ve found her. I need help. Please, I need help. Oh god!” She tries to warn them, to raise her voice over his but it’s all slipping away, fading so fast. The last thing she remembers is the horror on Jemma and Coulson’s faces._

Skye woke up in a cold sweat, her whole body shaking. Her throat felt raw and dry, aching to the point that she had to double check that she had been having a nightmare. The skin on her neck was smooth but slightly sticky from the sheen of sweat that clung to it. 

She’s had the nightmares ever since Quinn shot her but ever since the revelation of Ward’s betrayal they’d become much more frequent. They had been nearly nightly for several weeks now and it was always the ones that combined her near death experience with Ward’s deception that affected her the most. 

She glanced at her watch, squinting to see the face in the dark. It was 4:30am. Giving up on sleep, knowing that any attempt would be futile since she could still hear her heart pounding rapidly in her chest, Skye got to her feet and opened the door to her sleeping pod. As she walked out she thought she heard one of the other pod doors slide closed with a soft thud and a gentle hiss but there was no movement in the corridor. 

Billy had tried to make them all sleep in the rooms provided on the base but after one night’s waking up to a panic attack and not knowing where she was, Skye had moved straight back into her pod on the Bus. 

Coulson had politely but firmly declined Billy’s offer in the first place and May had done the same. Fitz clearly wanted to join them but Triplett and Simmons were comfortable in their base rooms so he had remained with them. 

Skye focused on her breathing, inhaling purposefully as she made her way through the Bus to the kitchenette. She began running through various things she could do to occupy her time until someone else got up to distract her from this gripping terror that had seized hold of her chest and threatened to engulf her. 

So occupied was she by pushing down the anxiety attack looming over her that she failed to notice the kitchen was not as empty as she expected until she nearly ran into May, who was pouring a couple of cups of coffee.

“Good morning.” May said, adding several sugars and plenty of cream to one cup before handing it to Skye.

“Oh. Thank you.” Skye said, surprised but grateful as she accepted the drink. She took a sip while May finished making the second cup, adding a small spoonful of sugar but leaving it black.

“I always had you pegged as the strong, black and sugarfree type.” Skye said, as May wiped down the bench before picking up her own cup.

“I like a bit of sweetness with my bitter.” May replied, her lips curling up into a smile.

“Fair enough. I didn’t think anyone else was going to be up yet.” Skye admitted, as she followed May out of the cramped kitchen and out onto the soft white couch. Out of habit they both grabbed a coaster in unison and set it on the table, even though neither of them set their cup down. May didn’t say anything, she just gazed at Skye in that discerning way of hers until realisation hit her.

“I was screaming, wasn’t I? You got up because I was screaming. I’m sorry.” Skye said, apologetically. May shook her head.

“There’s nothing to be sorry for. I have a good idea of what you’re going through. I know firsthand how rough it is when you get injured on a mission.” That she also knew what it was like to be betrayed by someone you had shared yourself with remained unspoken. 

“You never have to apologise to me for being scared, or hurt, or in any way upset by your experiences. If you tell me something in confidence, I will not share it. Not with FitzSimmons, not with Trip, not even with Coulson. That said, I won’t hold it against you if you choose not to share anything with me. I care about you, Skye. Not as an agent, or a colleague, but as a friend. I value you and I value your trust.” 

May spoke in her usual calm and considered tones but her words carried so much weight behind them that Skye knew that she was seconds away from bursting into a flood of tears. She clenched at her coffee, trying to ignore her shaking hands and uneven breathing. Wordlessly, May reached over and took the cup from her hands, setting it on the coaster before Skye could spill it all over herself and the couch. 

It happened before she could stop it, tears streaming down her cheeks as an embarrassing wailing sound emanated from her throat. She let May pull her into a hug, leaning in and resting her head on May’s shoulder, letting all the anxiety that had been bubbling below the surface flow out. It was a relief, like breaking through the surface of a lake for fresh air after staying under for too long.

“I don’t think I can do it yet.” What it was, Skye couldn’t really say. Talking about nearly dying. Everything to do with Ward. The fear that everyone she knew only ever pretended to care about her, that she would be moved on and forced to start anew again. All of the above. 

May didn’t push her, didn’t console her with soft words. She didn’t tell her it would all be okay. There was no reassurance other than the warm arm around her, the firm shoulder pressed against her cheek. A promise, that as long as Skye needed her then Melinda May would be there, however Skye needed her to be.

“When you’re ready, if you’re ready, I’ll be waiting.”


End file.
